Dreams Attained
by BurningxBridges
Summary: He couldn't be happier about a loss.


Steven let his mouth drop open in surprise as the dust settled and revealed the outcome of their battle. Her Blaziken, Kenna, kneeled on the ground, clearly exhausted but still able to fight. His Metagross, on the other hand, had collapsed.

When May stepped into his room, he was confident that he would win. Not that he didn't think she was a good battler—their brief time working together in Mossdeep had proved what many of the other Gym Leaders, including her father, claimed. May was a talented trainer. Still, he hadn't expected her to surpass him.

She ran forward and hugged Kenna tightly. She was laughing and crying as she mumbled praise into her Pokémon's feathers. He smiled at the sight before he went to his Pokémon's side. Metagross let out a disappointed grunt as Steven patted his Pokémon affectionately.

"You fought well," he said. "Take a long rest." Once he had returned Metagross to his pokéball, he strode over to May, who was still reveling in her victory. "Congratulations, May. You and your Pokémon worked hard; you deserve to be Hoenn's new Champion." She pulled away from Kenna to give him a radiant smile, and he realized that this was the first time he's seen happiness grace her features.

"Thank you," she said once she's healed up Kenna enough so that her Pokémon can walk beside her. He has never seen her without her Pokémon, either. Even in the beginning, Allegra, then a Kirlia, had stood faithfully by her side. He knew some trainers liked to walk with their Pokémon—he hadn't for practical reasons—but he'd begun to wonder if she did it out of necessity, rather than out of loneliness.

When they had teamed up against Team Magma in his hometown, he had always been the one to lead. At the time he'd assumed it was out of fear—any teenager, even an adult teenager, would fear a situation involving a criminal organization. Yet she had faced legendary Pokémon without so much as a hint of fear—he'd even asked after the fact.

Furthermore, he'd noticed that she rarely commanded her Pokémon in battle. Rather, she never commanded them to dodge, and while she called out attacks, her Pokémon didn't always follow them. Yet there was no sign of frustration on her features, rather, she seemed satisfied.

And then, of course, was the fact that if he spoke to her in a place swarming with activity, she would often fail to look at him. When she did, her gaze usually hovered around his shoulders—her eye level. He'd never minded, of course, but it did make him wonder.

"You did it, May!" Professor Birch and his son, Brendan, if he remembered correctly, burst through the door. May turned towards them, no doubt smiling just as radiantly as before. "We came as soon as we heard you were challenging the Elite Four. Wow! I can't believe I'm friends with a Champion!" May laughed as her friend engulfed her into a hug.

"Yes, congratulations, May," Professor Birch said. "Why, it seems like only yesterday when you departed with Kenna."

"It's been over a year," Brendan corrected. Steven's eyebrows raised—he would've thought she had trained her Pokémon for much longer. Then again, what else would she have been doing in Dewford? Aside from the gym and the beach, few people came to visit the island.

"I'm sorry to break this up," he said after a moment, "but I need May to come with me." She turned towards him once more. "I'm sorry, but only trainers who have come Champions can go on from here. You'll have to wait outside—we shouldn't be too long." Professor Birch nodded and nudged May forward. She followed Kenna, who gave Steven an expectant look. He led her into the Hall of Fame. His portrait currently stared down at them. As ostentatious as it was, it would be strange to see his face relegated to one of the many smaller portraits hanging in the hall. "This room is where we keep the records of Pokémon and trainers who prevailed through harsh battles to become Champion. We'll record your name, and the names of your partners." He started up the machine that would both heal and record her team.

"Sorry...what do I need to do?" She looked embarrassed.

"Ah, I can do it. I'll need your pokéballs." May recalled Kenna and handed over her Pokémon. He supposed he was touched that she trusted him. She'd never struck him as particularly naïve, and they were relative strangers. "And your trainer card." She dug it out of her bag and handed it over as well. He scanned it before handing it back.

"Is that it?" she asked once he'd returned her Pokémon.

"Essentially. We'll need to take a photograph of you and your Pokémon to replace mine." She nodded.

"I see. In that case, may I request something?"

"Of course. It's your photograph—you should be happy with a portrait that will hang in these halls for eternity."

"I want to have my guide Pokémon in my picture with me." She released a seventh Pokémon, a Mightyena wearing a colorful harness. She grasped the leash tightly. "I'm a little ashamed that I didn't work with Roxie as much as I could have. I mean, in towns I usually relied on her, instead of one of my other Pokémon or my cane, but a lot of the time I chose not to. I didn't want to be seen as weak and incapable, but as I walked up here I realized that that was wrong. I think it would've been stupid of me to reveal my disability to Team Magma, but I set out to become Champion in part to prove that someone like me could be Champion. It's not the whole reason, but..." She bit her lip. "Anyway, I want people to see my guide Pokémon and me, and know that their dreams are attainable, too."

"That's understandable," Steven replied with a smile. "Would you like to take it now or later?"

"Now is fine. Should I let out my Pokémon?"

"Yes. The portrait area is about thirty feet to your right."

"You heard him, Roxie. Right." Once she and her Pokémon were in position, Steven took the photograph.

"Well, that's it," he said. "There are duties you must perform as Champion, but we can discuss that later. You can also choose not to take the role, in which case I will continue to act as Champion. Lance is acting Champion, for example. In any case, you must be exhausted after all the battling you've done today." She nodded.

"I think the adrenaline is starting to wear off." She frowned. "I'm not sure of where to go from here. Regardless of what exactly being a Champion entails, I think I want to take the role. It can't be harder than taking down a criminal syndicate, right?" He chuckles at that.

"But should I go home? I left against my mom's wishes. If it were up to her, I wouldn't have any of my Pokémon at all. My dad, as you've probably figured out, was quite supportive of me."

"I think you're worrying too much," Steven admitted. "At least, you're worrying too much right now. I assure you that you'll be busy enough if you take on the role of Champion." He certainly had little time to himself. "But for now, you should celebrate your victory with your friend." She smiled.

"I guess you're right. What will you do? You don't have to answer me."

"Once I've got you settled in?" he mused. "I'm not sure. I'll probably return home for a while. Return to the life of a traveling trainer." He paused. "That said, if you need me for anything, you're welcome to call." He held the door back to the main chambers open for her. She and Roxie ran forward to those gathered—Norman and some boy with green hair had joined the congratulatory party, and he smiled.

He couldn't be happier about a loss.

* * *

_First story in...a long while. Anyway, I sort of blended Emerald and Ruby in terms of plot-that way I could have the incident at Mossdeep's Space Center and keep Steven as Champion, but it's loosely based off my Emerald play-through story involving a blind protagonist, which is in turn somewhat inspired by a headcanon post where Mightyena are guide Pokemon I found on tumblr. Also, some of Steven's dialogue was borrowed from/loosely based off of his dialogue in Ruby._

_Reviews would be very much appreciated!_

_BB_


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